Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-04

IQlS characteristic leLter naQ nelt0e
! date nor address, and as rain had quit
obliterated the postmark, it gave no clev
whatever to Dicks whereabouts or the
/: regiment he had joined.
In this new phase of distress, she miss
, ed some of the sympathy Of her friends a
the vicsrage, for now the preparations foI
Amy's marriage went on apace, and al
were very busy there; so MeIsnie's frest
sorrow was just then of secondary inter
est. And nothing grated on her feelings
more than the hard-heartedness Of heI
Uncle Grimshaw, who WAS disposed TO bt
actually joculsr en- the subject CT his
"drum-boy nephew" IS be termed Dick
CHAPTER xLnI.-THE FORTUNE OF WAR
i We must row return TO moEts que
Lonsdale and his comrades, whom W.
left, five chapters bsck, in the vicinity oi
Minhla, and who were now proceeding
up the river against the next formidable
town, Mysn Cyan.
The Calcutta mail had just brOUgh
Montressor letter from Claire. How
Lonsdade envied him, for no letter from
Rose Cottage had yet come TO shed lit.
tie light upon his way; but the bugles
were sounding now for the troops to "fall
ill.," and Montressor with ali his afec-
tionate anxiety, had to pocket his half
read epistle for perusal at more fitting
time.
As usual the msil brought no letter fol
LonsdsIe. That one posted SO surely
and lovingly by Melsnie never reached
him, by the course of events at the cap
ture OF Ava, as we shall show ere long.
"I wonder why hand grenades have
gone out of fashion. They would be OF
f,rL& &h1 h~an
wherever we have bush fighting. / have
heard my father speak Of bouquets OF
them, quilted with fuses outward, being
fred from the mortars in his time" said
LonsdaIe, as he surveyed the dense lux
uriance of the teak forests and their
undergrow WITH that bordered the river UP
which the ships with the troops on board
were steaming steadily and merrily.
And rumor already whispered of column
being detailed for the capture of the
Ruby mines.
The very name suggested much to ex-
cite cupidity. Lonsdale thought of Me-
lanie, and whether it could be possible,
in this most prosaic age of the world, to
achieve wealth by the effort of an hour.
Who is there that has not dreamed of
sudden riches sudden as those that fell
He smiled to himself as he thought Of how
love excited vague emotion Of acquisi-
tiyeness, even in him. But "to become
rich suddenly, and without effolt, by the
result of some splendid stroke OF chance,
has been dream with Millions" we are
told. "Such method of enricbing the
heroes of romance has been fashionable
since the days Of Sinbad. II is one of the
nf OF nj Nd
purely because it chimes in one Of the
stock dreams OF human nsture."
By the realization of such dream, the
wealth even Of the owner of Ravensb0urne-
Hall might be far eclipsed, and the most
greedy am ambitious aspirations Of Mr..
Grimshaw and Mrs. Chillington be more
than satisfied.
But Mandslsy, northeast of which lie
the 100 qaare miles of the far famed
Ruby disIrict-one regarded much akin
to fear and veneration by the Burmese
WAS not just then within the generals
scheme Of operations.
Theebaw, who had not as yet been de-
posed, was still "Lord of the Rubies,"
and when he wished to impress on Wis
itor an idea OF his vast wealth, was wont
TO make him thrust his arms into the
great jars of rubies and sapphires, that
stood in the treasury like SACKS of corn in
a granary. Rumour made some Of these
stones to be Of fabulous size, equal in
deed to that famous ruby, in exchange
for which Kublai Khan offered a magaif-
cent city.
It was impossible for Lonsdsle not to
speculate on what might occur if he was
sent on the expedition referred to. a
few hsndsful might give him and Melanle
ell they wanted in the world. To her
they might bring new life-a new exist
ence with all her love for him, and ell she
could ever have longed for in her crushed
and somewhat sordid girlhood, with the
power to aid the poor and the suffering
that power she longed for most; but
neither Montague Lonsdale or Montressor
were fated, IS the event proved, even to
see the ruby mines of King Theebaw.
A strong force of the enemy were said,
and found to be, OF Myan Cyan, town
situated on the left bank Of the Irawaddy,
and one OF great importance, as it is al
legged to have extended for two miles
along the river bank.
It then contained many houses of
priests and gaudy temples, the scarlet
and gilded pagodos Of which rose above
the brilliant greenery OF the surrounding
forests; and it was famous in the wars of
the Burme Sc and Peguens, as 1t was dis
tant only ninety miles from the capital.
About 4 in the afternoon of the oath of
November the fotilla came in sight of the
town, which was seen to crown high
bank-sll the higher owing TO the state of
the river at that season of the year-and
affordins most favorable ground for the
erection of three long batteries, which in
European hands might have knocked the
fotilla 10 pieces, and could not have been
searched out easily with shell.
The country around is level and open,
and overlooked by an isolated hill, tie
secluded abode, according to Burmese
superstition, of dreadful fends and de-
mons.
The royal troops in Myan Cyan muster
ed about 5000 strong, and they held
number of rifle pits-probably the sug
gestion of their Italian engineers-andI
some guns in battery on the plain below
the town, and therein their gilt UMBRELLAS
and pspier meche helmets, adorned with
the fire-vomiting dragons and SO forth,
could be seen above the earthworks when
the Irawaddi, the Kathleen and the gun
boats opened fire on the latter with shells,
the hosrse explosion and CHASTITY CLEANS
of which soon elected dreadful yells and
shrieks Of rsge and dismaY; aud these in
creased after the pestilent Nordenfeldts
and GARDENERS came into seton. But the
Burmese seemed for q time resolved to